Tag: Sam Raimi

It’s the last week of March already, but Spring is arriving VERY s-l-o-w-l-y here in Minnesota. By around the same time last year, we’re already in mid 60s, I think some people were wearing shorts on St. Patrick’s Day? This year, I’d be thrilled to see mid 40s by next weekend!

I did see a movie that made me feel quite Spring-y with the bright and colorful landscape filled with gorgeous colors and of course, a rainbow!

If you’re curious whether people who have not seen the original would enjoy this prequel, well I for one can tell you that YES, absolutely you could! In a way I feel that I actually have the advantage of knowing hardly anything of the story, apart from what the wicked witch look like and knowing some of the lyrics of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. You might be amused that the only time I heard this song being played in a movie is from John Woo’s action-packed Face/Off, ahah.

My friend asked me if I wanted to see a matinee showing and I went in with tepid expectations after reading the mediocre reviews. Well, I’m glad to report that I was NOT disappointed. Far from it, it really was a wonderful 2-hour escapist entertainment!

First of all, the opening title sequence is one of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s so beautiful and creative, definitely brings you right into the carnival world where Oscar works as a small time magician with dubious ethics. He soon gets into trouble, which leads him to a hot air balloon that transports him away from Kansas to the colorful Land of Oz. The movie turns from black and white to color and oh, what a feast for the eyes. I was truly mesmerized by the beauty of Oz. Sam Raimi truly turns the movie magic on with this one, I was practically ooh-aah-ing the gorgeous cinematography, special effects and spectacular landscape. Every creature is pretty amusing to look at, yes even the weird ones like the river fairies!

In this magical land is where Oscar meets the three witches: Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are all skeptical that he’s the great wizard everyone’s been waiting for. Oscar himself didn’t really want to continue deceiving them at first, that is until Evanora shows him all the gold he’d have if he becomes King. The inner struggle of choosing good over evil is something we’ve all identified with, and Oscar soon realized how high the stakes are for the people of Oz, though we’re never sure of his true motive until the very end.

I’ve told you about the visuals, now acting-wise, I still think Johnny Depp would’ve been much better in the role of Oscar Diggs instead of James Franco, but he ends up being all right here. I know his character is supposed to be this egotistical smug, but Franco plays it far to literally that he comes across annoying instead of amusing. He has this weird, awkward grin that made me cringe, it just took me out of the movie as I wanted to smack him! I also don’t buy him as this irresistible man who could get all these stunning women to fall in love with him. Fortunately he redeemed himself as the film progresses, in fact I think he was quite good in the touching scene with the China Doll. His fun companies on his journey on the yellow brick road certainly helps, I love Finley the flying monkey (voiced by Zach Braff) and China Girl (voiced by Joey King) who both owed their lives to Oscar.

The real stars of the film for me are the spectacular visuals and the three female actresses. It’s inspired casting to get Kunis and Weisz as sisters as they have similar features. Both look ravishing in their costumes, especially Weisz in the sparkly, feathered black frock. One particular scenes of them together is crucial to the story and I think both actresses acquit themselves well, though I can’t speak for fans of the original on this one. In contrast, Williams projects delicate beauty as the good witch Glinda. She practically looks like a cross between Sleeping Beauty’s Aurora and Cinderella in her silky white dress and crystal tiara. People might say it’s a boring role as she’s good through and through, but Williams is so effortlessly sympathetic and she did her best with what she was given.

I find the story to be quite absorbing and even hilarious at times. I could see how the L. Frank Baum’s cretion has become a pop-culture phenomenon, not only with the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, but also the smash hit Broadway play Wicked. One of the primary keys to a great tale is memorable characters, and this movie is full of them. The wicked witch and how she became that way is certainly the main draw, but the supporting characters are entertaining as well. Finley delivers a lot of laughs, the scene of him mooing had me in stitches. Though I’ve never been into dolls, China Girl is so adorable and cute I wish I could take her home for myself!! The citizens of Oz are full of quirky bunch as well, though I had the same reaction as Oscar when the munchkins started to burst into song, ahah. Ah well, this is a Disney movie after all.

Danny Elfman‘s beautiful score definitely helps transport you into another world. I really think Raimi and co did a great job here, and perhaps the fact that I couldn’t compare it to the original gives the film an advantage. But I wonder if having seen the original would make me like this less, I don’t know if that’d be the case.

Final Thoughts: If you want to lose yourself in a fantastical world for two hours on Sunday afternoon, you could do a lot worse. I was massively entertained and the few corny scenes (those romantic scenes between Franco & Kunis came to mind) did not derail the film for me. I didn’t see the 3D version and whilst I thought the visuals was still splendid in that format, I’d think the 3D version would’ve been worth it for this one.

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Hello folks, it’s time for the July 2012 edition of Five of the Fifth!

As is customary for this monthly feature, I get to post five random news item/observation/poster, etc. and then turn it over to you to share your take on that given topic. You can see the previous five-for-the-fifth posts here. So let’s get started, shall we?…..1. Well, since yesterday is American’s Independence Day, some of you might’ve been watching some war/military-themed movies.

There’s no shortage of US war films made in the past couple of decades, such as Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Dawn, Letters From Iwo Jima, The Thin Red Line, The Hurt Locker, etc. and no doubt the degree of performances certainly vary from film to film. Some even became career-making role, just ask Jeremy Renner.

So my first question to you is, who’s your favorite American soldier(s) in movies?

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2.Ok, it seems like every couple of months there’s a Tom Cruise movie! I find it ironic that his wife Katie Holmes filed for divorce whilst he’s filming his sci-fi actioner Oblivion. Ahah, obviously he’s um, oblivious of what’s coming to him?

In any case, yesterday we’ve got a first glimpse of Cruise’s crime drama Jack Reacher. Take a look at the trailer below:

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The film is based on a crime novel by British novelist Jim Grant (pen name Lee Child) and Cruise’s character is Jack Reacher, a former US Army Military Police Major who’s called in to solve the case of a sniper shooting that leaves five dead.

I personally think the trailer is a big giant meh. It doesn’t seem to offer anything fresh or intriguing and I’m already bored seeing Cruise in this role. And reading the character description on Wiki made me laugh:

Reacher is 6′ 5″ tall (1.96m) with a 50-inch chest, and weighing between 210 and 250 pounds (100–115 kg). He has ice-blue eyes and dirty blond hair.

Seriously? Tom Cruise… 6’5″?? What kind of camera magic would it require to create such a trick?? 😀 Y’know, as I read the description, I immediately think of Armie Hammer who recently played the Prince in Mirror, Mirror. I mean, the guy IS 6’5″ tall. Yeah, he probably doesn’t look tough enough, but I think he can manage.

So, did you read the Jack Reacher series? What are your thoughts of Cruise in this role?

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…3.Well, half of the year has come and gone. I haven’t made my top five movies so far yet, as I still haven’t seen a bunch of good ones like Moonrise Kingdom. But from what I’ve seen so far (including those that have premiered last year outside of the US), these are my five favorites:

4. This movie wasn’t even on my radar before. I haven’t seen the original classic, somehow it just never appealed to me. But this new poster of Oz: The Great and Powerful that my pal Castor posted on his blog did get me intrigued.

I had no idea they were making a prequel to the 1939 fantasy adventure The Wizard of Oz that tells how the Wizard arrived in Oz became the ruler. Sam Raimi is helming the flick, starring James Franco and a slew of great female cast: Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz. Hmmm, I’m curious now, but maybe I should watch the original first in order to enjoy this one?

What do you think folks? Any of you looking forward to this one?

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5.Ok, for the last question, I’m going to open up the floor to you all…

What movie/casting news you learned the past week that excites you the most? Do share link/photos/video, etc. in the comments.

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Well, that’s it for the July edition of Five for the Fifth, folks. Now, please pick a question out of the five above or better yet, do ‘em all! 😀

Hello I’m Ruth!

Film is in my blood. LOVE movies of all genres, from Jane Austen to James Bond. Official blogger for the Twin Cities Film Fest (TCFF). I’ve wrote and produced my first short film » HEARTS WANT in 2017 and currently working on developing the full story as a feature film.